The Christmas Tree

This seems to be the scene at our house lately:

Luckily, all our Christmas ornaments are shatterproof (aka: plastic) this year as at least 15 a day make their way onto the wood floor and/or in Ashlyn's mouth. Ashlyn has a constant ring of gold glitter around her mouth and on her sweaty palms.

Hopefully the novelty of the Christmas tree will wear off soon and then we can stop chasing rolling ball ornaments across the floor.

The Mom Disease

My husband thinks I have some sort of disease or condition that makes me fall asleep every night at 8:30pm when we are watching television or a movie (even if it is my favorite show or a chick flick).

I agree. It is called The Mom Disease. Unfortunately, I don't think there is any sort of cure or prevention for this, but if I come up with any new invention, I will let you know.

Frustration

I am SO tired of the girls behaving perfectly for other people but then as soon as I arrive, they turn into little monsters.

Don't be fooled, this is a short post because I don't have any clever ideas on how to fix this problem. I wish I did.

I just try my best to keep calm, but really, steam billows out of my ears!

I Dropped the Ball...again

Somewhere along the line, I missed some sort of memo about Christmas pictures being taken at school. I am usually pretty good at keeping up with school events and school notes, but must have overlooked this one. Mariah's outfit isn't really all that Christmas-y. Oh well, looks like we won't be ordering these.

Best Bib EVER

My girls have all used a bib called the "dura bib" and I really feel that everyone with little kids needs one, or two, or three of these awesome bibs! I have received many compliments on the bibs and many parents are envious of the product.

Why is this bib so cool?

The pocket has snaps so when the child is done eating, you can just unsnap and wipe clean. It is also machine washable, double bonus!

I keep one of these bibs at home and I also keep one in the diaper bag for on-the-go eating. BUT the bib is multi-functional.

*I will put snacks in the bib for my "crawler" that won't sit still and then they can still crawl around. Mobile snack!

*I will use the bib in the car for a toy holder/catcher which makes driving a little easier for both parent and child.

*And not the most pleasant of uses, but the bib helps with a child that gets car sick and/or when a young child has the flu. I have put the bib on all of our daughters when they are sick but too young to tell me when they are about to throw up. It has saved A LOT of messes both at home and in the car.

Unfortunately, these bibs are difficult to find in the stores. I have seen them on various occasions at Meijer and K-mart, but not consistently and I cannot find them on their websites. You can also search "dura bib" and a few websites come up where you can order them online for about $7 each.

Two thumbs up for the dura bib!!

We Survived

We all survived my first week of work, just like I knew we would. I felt a little more energy in the morning as I was excited for my new opportunity of working part time.

Waving good bye to my smiling girls on the first morning that I worked was actually more difficult than I had thought it would be. Ambria and Ashlyn waved uncontrollably and Ambria shouted, "Have a good day at work, mom!" It was so sweet. And then I drove away with a half smile, half frown on my face. Bitter sweet.

Hopefully this departure will get a little easier for me, but I do know that when I return to the girls at the end of the day, their hugs and kisses are priceless!

The Dismissal

My husband and I take turns tucking the girls in bed at night and reading them a story. Lately, the girls have been requesting to hear stories about when we were children. It is fun to think about my own childhood and relive it through storytelling to my daughters. I have told them everything from making cool tree forts, begging my parents for a miniature horse, my brother squeezing my hand too tightly during church prayer, my sister running into a huge tree while learning to ride a bike, me putting my teeth through my lip and needing stitches, filling up the pool in the summertime and being the first to jump in the icy water... and on and on.

Sounds great, BUT...

The girls don't enjoy my stories. They want DAD to tell them stories. I have been dismissed from telling bedtime stories.

I contemplated this and came up with a few reasons why I got the "boot:"

*My husband is a WAY better communicator than me (that is what he does for his job)

*My stories are too short. Short, sweet, and to the point. Go to bed. Good night. Mom is "off duty."

The girls have caught on to my quick stories, DAD's stories are L O N G E R and funnier.

I've been dismissed.

Maternity Leave

My 7 year maternity leave is coming to an end. I am very excited to start a part time job at The Tree House where I will be helping to create developmental curriculum for children ages birth-5 and also teaching some of the classes. Besides offering classes for parents and children, The Tree House has an amazing indoor play area and a cafe where parents can watch their kids play nearby. In other words: parent and kid Heaven!

I can't believe that I GET to work here! I am grateful for this opportunity. It is humbling that someone wants to use me and my gifts. This is difficult for me to process: ME? MORE than a mommy?

Starting a new job, after being a stay at home mom for 7 years, brings about a mixed bag of emotions. I am excited to venture out into the working world, exercise my gifts, and meet new people. The challenges that a new schedule will bring to our family makes me a little anxious, but I know we will all survive and learn to be a little more flexible. Since I will be working part time, I can still be at home for the girls, the best of both worlds!

So, my maternity leave is over. Starting a new chapter in my life, but not forgetting the old.

I am up for the challenge and I am excited to start this new venture.

(If you live in the Asheville area and have young kiddos, come visit me!! We hope to open in December!)

The Glass is Half Full

This was AFTER I had already given her a bath...back into the tub she goes!

Look on the bright side: Ashlyn successfully got all the yogurt out of the container! AND she got REALLY clean from two baths in less than two hours.

I TRY to focus on something positive rather than the negative when the girls complete an activity incorrectly. For example: if Ambria puts her shoes on the wrong feet, the positive is that SHE put on her shoes.

This can be difficult for me to do sometimes, especially if it involves a mess or if we are in a hurry, but at least the girls will get more of a positive message.

The glass CAN be half full in the midst of chaos.

Magic Eraser

I would like to thank the inventor of this ingenious idea! There really could not be a better name for this product, because...it is magic! I love it!

Ashlyn met an orange crayon today. The orange crayon met the white wall. The white wall met the Magic Eraser.

My guess is that this product has helped to prevent thousands, if not millions, of heart attacks from parents and caregivers.

Thank you Magic Eraser!

Nap Weening

Ambria LOVES to take naps. No, for real. All three of our girls were/are big nappers (Praise the Lord!) but Ambria is starting to not be able to fall asleep at night if she has a nap during the day.

For example:

TWO MINUTES after we put the girls down for bed, Ambria came out into the living room with a little smirk on her adorable face. She says, "I just had a bad dream." She proceeded to tell an amazing made up story about a ghost in our yard (It was a pretty good narration, I'll give her that).

On different night, Ambria yelled for me twenty minutes after we put her to bed and said she had TWO bad dreams. She, again, said this with a smile on her face. She proceeded to tell me the "dreams" and began by saying..."once upon a time..."

I think it is time for Ambria to be weened from the daily nap.